Published 4:37 pm Thursday, August 27, 2026 THOMASVILLE — Hundreds of individuals gathered at The Plaza on Wednesday afternoon for the United Way Campaign Kickoff, featuring former University of Georgia and Miami head football coach Mark Richt. Richt spoke on his journey into football as a young athlete, including his short stints in the NFL, before discussing his time as an assistant coach under the legendary Bobby Bowden and how it forever changed his faith. A quarterback at Boca Raton High School, Richt was recruited by Lou Saban to play at the University of Miami. Upon his arrival at Miami, Richt said he learned of another quarterback recruit by the name of Jim Kelly. Saban assured Richt it was nothing to worry over and “someone had to back him up.” “I was thinking good thinking, coach,” Richt said. “I had my game plan. I was going to start as a freshman, be all-American my sophomore year, win the Heisman my junior year, and play in the pros my last season. The only problem was Jim Kelly was living my life for me.” Jim Kelly would go on to star at the University of Miami and be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After attending Miami, Richt hoped to be drafted. However, the call he was hoping for never came. He recalled sitting by the wall phone, waiting for it to ring, and instead getting a call from his agent saying he went undrafted. “My agent called and said, ‘I have good news and bad news,’” Richt recalled. He said, ‘The bad news is you didn’t get drafted; the…
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